Can the above truly replace the PC running in Roon? Just plug in ethernet and connect to an USB-DAC? This is pretty cool. I’m eager to try out.
http://www.sonicorbiter.sonore.us
You still need to run Roon on a PC/Mac/NAS etc as the SOSE is only an endpoint to get your Roon stream to your Dac.
I run both a Sonicorbiter SE (>Bel Canto mLink>Bel Canto C7R) and a microRendu (>Schiit Bifrost Multibit) as Roon endpoints with Roon Core running on an Ubuntu Linux Intel NUC. Very reliable and good sound quality (especially with the microRendu). You do need some machine to run Roon Server or Roon Core in addition to the Sonore endpoints, as @Jumbjuck said.
How does it compare to a Pi because it does appear expensive.
Hi @MusicEar,
As the others have said the SOSE is a RoonReady endpoint however, Small Green Computers also offer the sonicTransporter i5 which has RoonServer preinstalled, but note is still needs a USB DAC or networked endpoint plus additional storage for your music lib.
There are other versions and bundles as well list, that to suit more encompassing requirements.
The Sonicorbiter SE’s hardware is a CuBox-i, which costs around $100. I’ve used that hardware successfully as a digital source with free Linux distros, but I got a bit tired of wasting time doing my own software maintenance, so I was happy to pay $300 for the SOSE prepackaged solution with a simple upgrade process. The hardware does a good job, although not as good IMO as the special-purpose hardware in the microRendu, which runs the same Sonicorbiter prepackaged software.
Have you run both the rendu and the SOSE with the Bifrost? Do you see an improvement di hour upgraded power, cables, etc?
With the BIfrost Multibit, I went through the following sequence of sources:
- SOtM sMS-100>Schiit PYST USB cable>Bifrost
- sMS-100>PYST>Bel Canto mLink>Nordost Blue Heaven coax>Bifrost
- sMS-100+Teddy Pardo LPS>PYST>Bel Canto mLink>Nordost Blue Heaven coax>Bifrost
- microRendu+Teddy Pardo>PYST>Bifrost
Biggest improvement was from 1 to 2, second next from 3 to 4. Better attack/decay, instrument separation, and detail.
Thanks for the info, guys. Okay, if SOSE is considered an endpoint, say I’m playing the Roon music server(PC) in the hall, can she listen to a different tracks in her room using a SOSE endpoint? Do you know where can I get more info on endpoints?
[quote=“MusicEar, post:9, topic:13691”]
Okay, if SOSE is considered an endpoint, say I’m playing the Roon music server(PC) in the hall, can she listen to a different tracks in her room using a SOSE endpoint?
[/quote]Yes, each endpoint maps to an audio zone in Roon.
Have a look in the Roon Ready network player section on the Roon Partners page.